Web update: Women's basketball wins home opener 73-51

By Cecile Nguyen

Senior forward Jen Gottschalk's 28 points led the Santa Clara women's basketball team to a compelling win over a physical Boise State team 73-51 on Friday.

"The team did a terrific job," Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson said. "We set the tone defensively and the team did an excellent job executing it."

Gottschalk led the Broncos in their home opener, shooting 10-for-17 from the floor. Guard Elizabeth Doran added 18 points for the Broncos.

Boise State committed 20 fouls in the game, but Santa Clara made 15 of their 17 free throws.

Doran opened the game with a floater after she stepped around Boise's defense and walked into the lane alone to give the Broncos the early lead.

The Broncos started off the game strong, forcing Boise into five turnovers and held them without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game.

"We played hard," Gottschalk said. "We have an inside/outside game and our outside game opened up our inside game. We had great shots."

BSU's Jessica Thompson's three pointer at 12:50 was Boise's first field goal of the game.

Boise got on a roll after Thompson's shot as they went on an 8-0 run to lead the game 23-15.

Gottschalk had nine points in the final six minutes of the first half to help the Broncos climb back into the game.

After tying the game back up at 26 points apiece, Santa Clara was stellar defensively forcing Boise into a 24 second clock violation in the very next possession.Gottschalk three pointer gives SCU the lead 29-26 with 1:15 left in the half but the Broncos failed to maintain the slim lead. Despite shooting 40 percent from the field including 30 percent from beyond the arc, Santa Clara headed into halftime down 32-31.

Five quick points to open the second half, including a three by senior guard Chandice Cronk, gave Santa Clara the lead once again.

A Santa Clara steal led to a fastbreak layup by Gottschalk and sparked a 15-6 run for Santa Clara as they extended their lead 46-38 just five minutes into the second stanza.

Santa Clara never relinquished that lead as they continued their impressive shooting night, shooting over 44 percent from the field and 50 percent behind the three point line.

Boise State refused to let up despite being down by more than 20 points and less than three minutes of play.

When Santa Clara inbounded the ball, guard Kelli Parker and a Boise player scrambled on the floor for a loose ball after Parker loss possession. Parker fell on her left arm as began screaming and crying in pain and had to be helped off the floor by a trainer and coach.

"I'm proud of the girls' effort," said Bento-Jackson. "They competed for 40 minutes."

Next up for Santa Clara is the Alaska Shootout in Anchorage as they faced off against Bradley on Nov. 20.

The Broncos will be leaving tomorrow night for Alaska tomorrow.

"We're going to visit Chandice Cronk's house and her mom is going to cook for us," Gottschalk said. "We're all very excited."Senior guard Cronk became the 17th Bronco to reach 1,000 career points when she scored on a pair of free throws last Tuesday against Washington State.